Plenary Session #1: The Role of the City in Creating Shared Value
The world is an urban planet. It is estimated that by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities. This will require City Planners, Policy Makers, Governments and the Citizens living in the Cities to evaluate the current infrastructure and social capacity to define the City of the future. There will a need for new innovative policies for hard infrastructure to support energy, water, transportation, waste management and affordable housing as well as soft infrastructure to support systems for communication, education, and culture. Most importantly communities that innovate and collaborate to improve their quality of life will have a strategic advantage.
Creating shared value using multi sector collaboration is critical to the success of cities. Corporations are finding new ways to engage with the community. Charities are running social enterprises Corporations. Governments are working in creative and innovative ways to provide services partnering in unique ways. Together they have increased credibility, expanded networks, and enhanced outcomes and can better utilize collective assets for community building and social innovation.
